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The site was identified as important in 1998 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
African Penguin Spheniscus demersus	CR	resident	-	300-900 breeding pairs	A1
Cape Gannet Morus capensis	EN	resident	-	800-3,000 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Cape Gannet Morus capensis	EN	non-breeding	-	2,000-10,000 individuals	A1, A4ii
Crowned Cormorant Microcarbo coronatus	LC	resident	-	20-280 breeding pairs	A1, A4i
Crowned Cormorant Microcarbo coronatus	LC	non-breeding	-	50-500 individuals	A1, A4i
Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis	EN	resident	-	2,000-4,000 breeding pairs	A1, A4i
Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis	EN	non-breeding	-	5,704 individuals	A1, A4i
Bank Cormorant Phalacrocorax neglectus	EN	breeding	-	10 breeding pairs	A1
African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini	LC	resident	-	66 breeding pairs	A1, A4i
African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini	LC	non-breeding	-	200-300 individuals	A1, A4i
Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus	LC	non-breeding	-	2,864 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	non-breeding	-	10,000-19,999 individuals	A4iii
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding	-	10,000-19,999 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1998) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
2009	Namibian Islands Marine Protected Area	Marine Protected Area	100
2009	Namibia Islands	Marine Protected Area	100

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Possession Island (Namibia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/possession-island-iba-namibia on 23/11/2024.